Obama on Debt: Time to Do 'Something Big'

President Barack Obama, in an editorial published by USA Today, said debt negotiations offer Congress and the White House to "something big and meaningful" and encouraged both sides to make tough decisions.

The President said he is willing to cut spending and entitlement programs that "some people in my own party aren't too happy about" but added that cuts in waste, fraud and redundant spending are not the solution to ending the nation's debt woes. He raised his long-standing push for tax reform, shifting more of the burden to the rich and ending tax loopholes for the wealthiest of Americans.

"The middle class hasn't just borne the brunt of this recession; they've been dealing with higher costs and stagnant wages for more than a decade now," Obama wrote.

"It's just not right to ask them to pay the whole tab — especially when they're not the ones who caused this mess in the first place."